Headmaster upset my son by shouting at him

[birty]

Today I picked my son up from school and he flooded into tears!! (he is 6) It took me a while to get it out of him what the matter was. He just wanted to go home and I told him I wasnt leaving school until I knew what was going on and if he didnt tell me I would ask the headmaster. As soon as I mentioned the headmaster he cried and wanted to go home even more!! My son told me that he was hiding from his class teacher and she sent him to the headmasters office. The headmaster then shouted very loudly at him in front of a parent, teacher and other children walking by. He was frightened. I told the headmaster he was upset and he said so he should be he needs to learn how to behave! I was quite upset by that remark and told him I do not want my son to be screamed at and that I was happy for him to be punished but not shouting at him as he was in bits. I explained how intimidating it is for a bigger person shouting at a smaller person is not good and he replied dont tell me how to run my school. I was so cross that my partner went down to speak to the headmaster. My partner too could see how upset our son was. What does anyone think? Should I take further action?

I assume if there is school Saturday morning it must be a pre-prep. In which case take your money elsewhere if you don't like the head. The head makes (and breaks) the school and I'm sure you will easily find another school that fits your discipline ethos. If I do something ds doesn't like he 'threatens' me with saying he will tell his head teacher. She is lovely but very strict and the boys adore her. I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her at all.

Sounds to me like this wasn't the sort of hiding where the teacher didn't know where he was (dangerous and worrying) but the silly, uncooperative 'hiding under the table so I don't have to do as you say' sort. Which does indicate a teacher who's not coping, I would say.
However, he clearly wasn't getting the message about his naughty behaviour from the teacher, so she passed him over to the Head who, it seems, got through to him. I would imagine he became fierce because your son wasn't taking it seriously. Few teachers go straight into shouty mode unless it's deemed necessary. And it worked, in a way, because your son now realises he was naughty, and that unpleasant things can happen when you're naughty, so he might think twice about doing it again.
That governor was out of order discussing it with you and going against the Head. She might be having to explain herself on that one.
Move on.

Wow, a six year old sent to a headmaster and yelled at for what to him was probably just a silly game? Why on earth couldn't the teacher have just taken him aside and explained how much it worried her and why he mustn't do that again? He is six, he's not necessarily going to understand the adult's perspective of a hiding child without explanation. He likely saw it as a bit of harmless hide and seek and how terrifying to be yelled at for that.

Sounds like the experience has mainly just left him terrified rather than getting him to understand a safety message. To him, innocent game ends up in unpredictable bollocking.

And the headmaster being so rude to the parent? Hmm, I wouldn't accept that. If I couldn't speak freely andco-operatively with the person in charge of a bigchunk of mychild's development and welfare, I'd be looking for somewhere else.

But that's my point, Carmen. She almost certainly did take him aside and he didn't respond. Hence the sending to the Head.

And some children (speaking generally here, not necessarily the OP's son) do need a bit more of a heavyweight approach before they take things seriously.

The crux of this is that:
a) Child was naughty
b) Head asked to deal with it and did so. His job, frankly.
c) Parents object on a technicality.
d) School's authority undermined.

There are so many examples on here of parents who are all for discipline in schools, until their child is involved, when suddenly it all changes. Presumably, it's other people's children they want disciplined.

However you felt about the situation, your conversation with the Head should not have taken place in front of your son.

I hadn't picked up on the fact that there was Saturday morning school, therefore if OP doesn't like the way the Head talks to the DCs she can take her custom elsewhere.

No, it happened yesterday. OP posted same thing on another thread yesterday.

Every time i am on mn i feel so glad that i am not a teacher or doctor. They seem to have someone who 'takes it further' every 5 min.

I don't see the point of posting twice-didn't it get the 'right' response the first time?